5' Rotary Cutter Options

[jyoutz]

Only buy a heavy duty cutter

True if you need to cut woody material. Unnecessary if you just cut grass.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Get a Brown 415. It’s over $3000 plus chains but by far the best you can buy

For a 30-50hp tractor like he is considering, it may be one of the best built but not the best he can buy for his intended use and situation or the tractor he decides on.
A Bush Hog 215 or 216 may be all he needs and with front and rear chains and slip clutch can be had for right around 2K. A similar Rhino or Woods are close in price as well.

 

[jyoutz]

One reason I like the Rhino 3 series - the HD triangulated rear wheel system. I would guess that about 80% of my cutting will be backing into brush.

The neighbor "folded up" his rear wheel bracket - backing into brush. He found a big 'ol stump and hauled up short - but too late. His cutter has a single square tube going back to the rear wheel.

The brush I will be cutting is called Buck brush. The stems are all about the diameter of your little finger or smaller. But it's thick as the hair on a coon hound.

Clearing the stands of brush will be a slow project. I'll be rooting around in the stands looking for "foreign objects".

I'll be putting a full width Plexiglas shield behind the roll bar and double chains on the front of the cutter. What will come out the back is of no concern.

For sure I'll be needing some type of serious dust mask. My tractor is open station.

One thing I've noticed about this brush I have here. Last year I cut some with my riding mower. Once cut it tends to die and not come back. I was thinking I'd have to recut every so often. But that's not the case.

Ceonothus (buck brush) can resprout. Especially after fire. But if it’s tall, old, and decadent it is often killed by top cutting.

 

[LD1]

I know this is a few months old, but I am trying to get a bit more serious about implements as we get closer to d-day. Since dealers like to package things, I want to at least be able to put a rational value on the 'included' items. I am not a big fan of the packages, but if there is value there, I will bite.

More directly to my question...LMC is not showing Rotary Cutters on their website menu. I can get to 1 model (2 sizes) if I do a web search. It looks as though maybe they have discontinued making them? Any ideas on that? I am also having a hard time finding a dealer locator or similar. Are these only sold in and around Georgia?

I am gathering data on Land Pride, Titan Implement (i know about the fakes), Bush Hog, Rhino, and EA. Other brands I should seriously consider (for Rotary Cutter, Box Blade, Tiller, Chipper, Grapple, Tree Shears, Pallet Forks and MAYBE a PH digger)? Other than Titan Attachments, any brands to avoid?

I am looking at the Mini Clip by Precision Mfg for the shears. Leaning toward EA for the Grapple. The Shears are definitely a down the road purchase, but I want to have it on my list.

Consider what you will be cutting and buy an appropriate cutter.

The brands you mention are all good to look at, but its hard to pinpoint a model for you to look at. Because 30-50hp tractor covers a broad range, and there is a huge difference between clearing 10-year unmaintained CRP ground and wanting to clip pastures a few times a year.

A certain member tries to bush a brown 415 on every bushhog thread. And while they ARE a good cutter....they arent the best at everything and the best for everyone. Case in point....the OP of this thread with a little L2501 tractor and being pushed a 1000lb cutter that will require the loader always be left on. And the 415 has a comparatively LOW blade tip speed. Which means its performance is gonna be sub-par in grasses and pasture weeds.

So its all in what you want to cut. If you are just clipping pastures, for a 30+HP tractor I'd want no less than a 6' with high blade speed. The fact that a 6' brown weighs over 1200#, and cost over $3000, there are far better choices. Fill in some of the blanks and you can get some better suggestions

 

[IndyJay]

I bought a Land Pride RCD1884 dual spindle 84" cutter for my Kioti DK4510 that works perfectly for my needs, namely, mowing 20 acres of pasture.

 

[Torvy]

Pto has should be 35-39...48+/- HP tractor.

Total acreage is just under 20, mostly wooded loblolly plantation. I have about 2 acres of easements that I will maintain, even though the utility should. They only cut every 8 years.

There will be saplings or bigger with a mix of grasses and green briar and other brush. We will also use it when possible to keep underbrush down and as part of clearing spaces for planting other things. Trail maintenance will be another use. We will have little or no lawn.

 

[LD1]

Pto has should be 35-39...48+/- HP tractor.

Total acreage is just under 20, mostly wooded loblolly plantation. I have about 2 acres of easements that I will maintain, even though the utility should. They only cut every 8 years.

There will be saplings or bigger with a mix of grasses and green briar and other brush. We will also use it when possible to keep underbrush down and as part of clearing spaces for planting other things. Trail maintenance will be another use. We will have little or no lawn.

Sounds like a good meduim duty 6' cutter should serve you fine.

Look for something around 900-1000#. Current models are Landpride 2672, woods BB72.30 which is a little lighter than the landpride or the BB72.50 which is a little heavier. Or a bushhog BH217 which is on par with the landpride.

Those all wont be hurt by 2" stuff, stout gearboxes, and good blade speed for when the cutting is lighter

 

[Torvy]

Sounds like a good meduim duty 6' cutter should serve you fine.

Look for something around 900-1000#. Current models are Landpride 2672, woods BB72.30 which is a little lighter than the landpride or the BB72.50 which is a little heavier. Or a bushhog BH217 which is on par with the landpride.

Those all wont be hurt by 2" stuff, stout gearboxes, and good blade speed for when the cutting is lighter

Thanks.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Sounds like a good meduim duty 6' cutter should serve you fine.

Look for something around 900-1000#. Current models are Landpride 2672, woods BB72.30 which is a little lighter than the landpride or the BB72.50 which is a little heavier. Or a bushhog BH217 which is on par with the landpride.

Those all wont be hurt by 2" stuff, stout gearboxes, and good blade speed for when the cutting is lighter

I think you meant to write BH216, BH217 is a 7' wide cutter.

 

[LD1]

I think you meant to write BH216, BH217 is a 7' wide cutter.

Yes, Fat fingered the keyboard and didnt catch it.....